Kenny Hill Right Choice at Quarterback for Texas A&M Aggies in 2014

By Tyler Brett

Troy Taormina – USA TODAY Sports

The Texas A&M Aggies were looking for the next “Johnny Football” after Johnny Manziel left school early for the NFLthis offseason. They had a pair of very talented, though extremely inexperienced, options to choose from in their quarterback derby between sophomore Kenny Hill and highly touted true freshman Kyle Allen. Head coach Kevin Sumlin ultimately named Hill the winner of the competition, which is the right move for the Aggies in 2014.

There’s no denying the incredible talent of the younger Allen, who comes to College Station as the No. 1 rated pocket passer in the 2014 recruiting class. His arm strength, accuracy, and maturity in the pocket give him an incredibly high ceiling that will undoubtedly make him a future star at the college football level. But that incredible potential seemingly couldn’t overcome his lack of experience at running A&M’s up-tempo spread offensive attack.

That is likely the difference that helped Hill come out on top. Not only was Hill the backup to Manziel in 2013, watching the former Heisman Trophy winner do his thing in the Aggie offense, but he’s a true dual-threat quarterback who has run this style of offense since his days in high school. His athleticism and quick release have also helped him settle into this offense more quickly and will be a major asset to the Aggies in what could be a trying 2014 season.

Having a quarterback that is calm and collected under center will be a major boost to Texas A&M as they try and rebuild their roster. Not only will the offense be without Johnny Manziel, they also lose their top receive Mike Evans and have dismissed a number of starters off their defense which was pretty terrible already in 2013. All this chaos on the depth chart is not conducive to getting a true freshman up to speed in the SECWest.

While Allen may end up being the more successful quarterback, Texas A&M needs some stability in 2014. Kenny Hill has the experience and the confidence in this offense to be a steady presence for the Aggies this fall. Will he be enough to maintain the level of success the team had under Johnny Football?